Throne of Ice
by scarletsnapdragon
Summary: Even after her return, Elsa doesn't quite fit on the throne of Arendelle. Her place is elsewhere.


Disclaimer: Frozen and the characters mentioned herein are not my property, and I'm not making any money from this or any other story published on this site.

* * *

Elsa smiles a lot now. Her lips tick up at the corners, her eyes narrow the slightest bit and the ambient temperature rises a few degrees. The people love it. They love watching their ice queen soften on audience days. But it's a rare, precious thing for the people of Arendelle to see her unguarded and lit from within, as she was the day she returned and the Frozen Summer ended. She saves those smiles for the nights when she rides out of the city under a cloak that one of her maids lost shortly after the queen's return.

An hour's ride from Arendelle, the green mountains of the countryside give way to a white glen that sparkles when the stars come out. A little creek winds down from the highlands at its northeastern end to an iced-over pool at its heart, and all through the snow-blanketed ground, frosted purple heather grows undaunted, unperturbed by its dazzling raiment. This is the will of the Queen, after all.

Elsa's throne, her _real_ throne, rises out of the pool's center. When she reaches it, she lifts a hand to the sky and releases a great flurry of snowflakes. The snowflakes spread, catching the light of the stars and illuminating the glen below. Under a thousand tiny lanterns, she sits, straight and serene, to await her court.

First come the landvaettir of the surrounding woods and the benign jotnar from the closest mountains to kneel before the Snow Queen and renew oaths made in the Hall of Ice. Others from farther away will straggle in as the night wears on. Elsa accepts their fealty and soon a motley band of trolls, jotnar and nature spirits strike up a lively tune. Despite many, many offers from handsome young giants and lesser nature deities and even a few dwarves drawn from their forges by the revelry, Elsa remains on her throne, waiting.

When the night is deepest she stands, releasing the lanterns with a wave. The dark descends and the music hushes. The court, by now a great throng, stills and all eyes lift to the sky. Elsa's smile blooms as she summons forth a burst of storm and shapes it into a figure out of legend. The court cheers. Thor rides across the sky in his chariot pulled by goats. As he swings mjolnir, snow that glows like lightning streaks down into the crowd and jotunn drums crash like thunder. Elsa's smile widens at the delighted gasps.

She raises her other hand and now the serpent Jormungandr appears to battle mighty Thor, spewing poison from his maw. Thor lands a heavy opening blow on the serpent while a troll chorus sings encouragement from below. Fiddles hiss, incensed, as Jormungandr strikes back, but Thor meets the attack with his shield. Back and forth, the god and the serpent trade blows until, with a final booming strike from mjolnir, the serpent bursts into a heap of glittering white dust.

Thor stumbles away from the remains of his foe. One step…two…three…on the ninth he falls to his knees and the court is deathly silent, but for a lone fiddle. Elsa eases her grip on the magic and Thor fades, as does the fiddle's aching melody.

After a beat, Elsa stirs up a breeze that whips the remaining snow into great tongues of flame. The flames writhe in frenzy, along with the horrified vocalizing of the chorus. Finally, the flames die, the chorus quiets, and Elsa's voice lifts. As she sings a single sprout rises out of the ashes of the world's end. It grows into a sapling and then the great tree, Yggdrasil. The tree shines blindingly bright and the court cheers for its Queen.

Elsa's heart thunders as loud as any of the drumbeats that accompanied Thor's hammer. _This is where I belong._ It's a thought that bubbles up from the deepest part of her heart every time she holds court in the glen.

Perhaps…perhaps one day she won't have to split her time between this world and her parents' kingdom.

One day.

* * *

Elsa is no longer feared by the people of Arendelle, but she stands apart from them nonetheless. They want their queen to walk among them, she knows this, just as she knows that she cannot be such a queen.

But Anna could.

Anna yawns and stretches in her chair. They're in Elsa's study, have been for hours. "Now can we go to bed?"

"Not yet. There's still one more trade agreement I want to look over."

"Okay, then, can _I_ go to bed?" she tries, making her eyes big and her lips small.

Elsa flashes the tiniest of smiles. "No."

"Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?" Anna whines. "You're the queen, not me. All this paperwork is your job."

"You're my sister. It's your job to do whatever I say."

"I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."

Elsa just smiles again. "Read this clause."

Anna does, yawning again. "So…these guys want us to agree not to let our ice harvesters sell to anyone else for at least two years."

Elsa nods in approval.

Anna makes a face. "Why didn't they just write that instead of blathering on about 'exclusivity'?"

"Contracts need to be as specific as possible so all parties concerned know exactly what they're getting into when they sign. Now, having read that clause, would you sign this contract?"

Anna's eyes narrow. She thinks for a while. "My gut reaction is a no."

"Why? They are offering a better price than any of the other kingdoms specified."

"But they wouldn't buy as much ice from us as, say, four other kingdoms would over the same two year period."

"That's a very important point. But would Arendelle's ice harvesters be able to produce enough of a surplus to sell to four other kingdoms?"

"Um…yes?"

"You're not sure. How could you find out how much ice is typically mined in Arendelle in one year?"

"I could ask Kristoff."

Elsa rolls her eyes. "You really think _Kristoff_ is a reliable source of information for state matters?"

"Hey, Kristoff knows stuff!"

"I'm sure he does," Elsa replies dryly. "Who else could you ask? And please don't say Sven."

Anna resists the urge to stick out her tongue at her sister. She's extremely proud of herself for managing it. "I guess I could try the ice harvesters' guild."

"Exactly! You're starting to think like a queen."

"Thanks, Elsa! Goodnight!" and Anna is out of her chair and halfway to the door by the time the words get out.

"Hold it," says Elsa.

"Ugh, Elll-saaaa," Anna whines.

Elsa hands her the final trade agreement of the night. "You're going to write the response to this one – "

"ELL-SAAA!"

"Thomas will help you with the wording and we'll review it together before it goes out. Have it on my desk by Friday morning."

* * *

Out of the blue, Anna storms into Elsa's study the next evening in a door-rattling fury. "Why do the trolls seem to think you're sneaking out late at night to throw fantastical parties in the middle of the wilderness?"

Elsa sets down her pen and levels a serious look on her sister. "Because I am."

Anna's mouth drops open. "How is this the first I'm hearing about it?! Elsa, that's _dangerous!_ It's the _wilderness!_ There's wolves and giants and who knows what else!"

"I can take care of myself."

"Maybe, but – "

"Not maybe. I can," Elsa corrects gently.

"But why? You can just have your parties here, safe, in the city. With me." At the last, her voice is quiet and her hands grip each other tightly.

Elsa pauses for a moment, trying to find the words to explain what she's found outside of the city, the compulsion she feels to be among the Others, her fellows. She can't. "Come with me tonight. I'll show you my throne."

* * *

Riding through the silent forest, her sister simmering beside her, Elsa wonders if it's too soon. The decision to bring her to the glen was entirely too hot, too impulsive, too Anna. Not at all Elsa. If not for the trolls (for whom she was saving up some choice words), Anna wouldn't have known until Elsa was ready to tell her directly. And there would have been nice, calming hot tea and maybe even fresh-baked cookies involved.

But now they're here, just below the crest of the last hill between the outside and Elsa's court. Elsa's heart pounds as they reach the top. For a dizzying moment, she sits atop the crest with her sister beside her and the small valley unfurling below them. The moon is round and glad tonight, illuminating the creek and the heather and the pond and most especially Elsa's throne, and Anna's eyes are wide as saucers.

"Elsa," she breathes. "This is your place?"

Elsa's lips snap into a broad smile because without even knowing, without even _knowing_, Anna's put it in exactly the right words. This is Elsa's _place_. "Yes, it is."

Anna takes her hand and squeezes. "Thank you for sharing it with me. I know how hard it is for you to open up sometimes."

Elsa smiles bigger, brighter and warmer than she ever has.

* * *

**AN:** Thank you for reading!

This started out as an exercise in description because I'm usually not very good at it. Somewhere along the way it turned into sisterly bonding and I know how the Frozen fandom loves that, so I thought I'd share :-)


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